آفاق سينمائية
Volume 10, Numéro 2, Pages 192-207
2024-01-25

The Influence Of Society In Forming The Serial Killer`s Mind In The Series ‘dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)

Authors : Slimani Mariya . Mehiri Ramdane .

Abstract

This article explores the effect of society in forming the mind of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer by revealing its psychological influence on the conducts of the antihero of Netflix series ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Story’(Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan ,2022). This research aims to answer the question how Jeffrey Dahmer transforms from an innocent child to a criminal by focusing on the social influences in his childhood. One of the main purposes that stand behind this inquiry is exploring the mind of this serial killer in his early life, who is an archetype that has not received enough attention in studying it from many different perspectives. What is common is accusing the offender as the only guilty person; however, this paper aims to study the criminal from another perspective. This research digs deep in the childhood of the character to explore what stands behind violence. The main suggested hypothesis is that social institutions are involved in Jeffrey Dahmer`s transformation into a killer by creating psychological issues in his childhood. This hypothesis is investigated through qualitative content analysis, in which psychoanalytic theory is chosen to study the character`s psyche. The research is based on deconstructing the series’ scenes and analyzing them by using cinematographic techniques, thematic analysis, and symbolism. Conducting this research is for the aim of promoting awareness about the effect of social institutions. The study results in revealing valuable information about the impact of social abuse that goes unnoticed in relationships. Jeffrey Dahmer is an evidence of the failure of society in keeping humane atmosphere in the interaction between individuals.

Keywords

Childhood ; Psychoanalytic ; society ; cinematography ; individual ; symbolism ; relationships ; criminal